Close to Nowhere (Larry Stylinson)

one

I don't know if I'm going crazy, or if I'm already there.

"I'm convinced no one in history has ever driven this slow before," Louis remarked, glancing over at the speedometer. He was unsurprised to find they were going five miles per hour under the speed limit.

There was nothing but the rental car and the open road in front of them, no traffic or hazards in sight. Just the rolling hills of the Appalachian mountains and the occasional cluster of cows in the distance, grazing. There was no reason to drive so slowly. Harry was a literal grandpa.

Harry gripped the steering wheel tighter but didn't respond, fingers turning white. This was the fourth time Louis pointed out how slow he was driving, and he had yet to receive a response, aside from the way he clenched his teeth, which made the cut of his jaw even more defined. Not that Louis was looking.

The slow speed probably had something to do with the fact that the car itself was ancient and rickety, as if it was considering falling apart at any moment. Louis had stared at the worker at the rental place for a long moment before accepting the keys. He was pretty sure rental cars were supposed to be new and nicer than cars people normally drove, but apparently that wasn't the case in Tennessee.

Not that Louis knew anything about Tennessee, except for the fact that they sometimes had ghost activity and needed help from people like him.

"Why're you acting so weird?" Louis pestered, glancing at Harry again before turning his gaze back to the scenery. The mountains were pretty, but it was a bit concerning being out here in the middle of nowhere with a rickety rental car and no cell service.

"Not acting weird."

"You are, though. You were all blushy when we started driving and now you look like someone insulted your mother."

It was true; when Harry slipped into the driver's side approximately four hours ago when they were still in Nashville, his cheeks were rosy pink and he looked a little flustered. Louis had no idea why he was acting like that after loading their luggage into their trunk.

It was typical Harry behavior, for the most part at least since he always acted a little strange, but the details were piling on top of each other and making it more apparent than normal.

"I liked it better when you were meditating. Much quieter when you shut up for once."

Louis rolled his eyes and kicked his feet up on the dashboard. He had meditated earlier to recollect his mind in preparation of all the psychic work he was going to have to do for the next few days. It could be exhausting, and he needed to begin on a clean slate every time he picked up a new case. Otherwise, all of the premonitions and mental maps blurred together in a muddled mixture of handfuls of psychic visions that had nothing to do with each other.

If Harry wanted him to be quiet, he was going to be the exact opposite. They both knew that was how he operated.

"You know, no one asked you to come with me. This is my case."

"Yeah, and then you'd have no one to drive your ass from Nashville to Sweetwater and indulge all of your cravings for gas station snacks."

"If I was driving I'd be able to stop at any gas station I wanted," Louis retorted, fiddling with the glove compartment. He couldn't get it open no matter how hard he pulled on the handle. There probably wasn't anything interesting inside but that didn't stop him from being curious.

It was always fun to pick up random objects and see what kind of visions he could squeeze out of them. It was a great psychic exercise, made even greater by the fact that Harry absolutely loathed when Louis did it.

"If you were driving, you'd still be stuck at the airport because you don't know how to drive. Also, we've definitely already established why I'm coming with you."

They had. Harry was staying with Louis at Ashland ranch for the foreseeable future for the sake of keeping him out of trouble. Or something like that.

"Did you know that in Tennessee it's illegal to catch fish with a lasso?"

Aside from mumbling what the fuck under his breath, Harry didn't respond.